Things to see and do

Museums

The question of overcrowding at Angkor Wat is becoming a serious one, and efforts are being made by numerous bodies to try to address it. One Cambodian artist has been doing his own bit too as his work offers a novel way of viewing Angkor: in miniature. ... read more

In 2010, Aki Ra was a top-10 runner up in the nominations for CNN's Heroes.
This success was in recognition of his tireless work clearing landmines across Cambodia, helping children and families who have been affected by landmines, and the extraordinary story that brought him to where he is ... read more

Visiting the Angkor National Museum was an eerie, surreal experience. For the first 45 minutes of our trip through the mammoth, 20,000-square-metre building, we didn't spot another visitor. The museum opened in November 2007, and its shopping mall-like feel contrasts with the thousands-year-old ... read more

Temples

A short stroll from Siem Reap's Old Market, Wat Damnak was once a palace of King Sisowath that now houses a Buddhist monastery, a children's school, a sewing school for young women and two charities, including the Centre for Khmer Studies (CKS). Committed to strengthening education for Cambodia's ... read more

Wat Bo Pagoda, close to the Siem Reap River on the east side, is one of the oldest in Siem Reap and a peaceful place to escape and take a break from touring the major temple sites of nearby Angkor. Wat Bo, which gives the area of town its name where a hub of backpacker accommodation can also be ... read more

Wat Thmei is an active pagoda built on a site that was once a killing field, a grim and sobering reminder of Cambodia's past. Wat Thmei, located on one of the roads leading to Angkor Wat, is worth pausing at if you won’t be visiting Phnom Penh. Here at this active monastery you can understand ... read more

Stuffed frog, sauteed cricket and deep fried tarantula are probably the best known examples of Cambodia’s rich street food tradition – partly because Gordon Ramsay pulled faces and swore a lot when he was forced to try them on a recent TV series and partl ... read more

Performing arts

Just about every guesthouse, restaurant, shop and tuk tuk driver will happily set you up with an evening of Apsara dancing. Though seemingly ubiquitous, the dancers are often talented and the apsara dance is still very much a part of modern Khmer culture -- it's not just a tourism invention. Most ... read more

Getting a private view of anything in “Angkor” is usually a luxury few travellers can afford. Founded in 1998 by Khmer artist Arn Chorn-Pond, Cambodian Living Arts (CLA) is an acclaimed non-profit that employs master Khmer artists who teach a number of media to impoverished young people from ... read more

Bright lights, glitz and glamour. Rosana Broadway certainly doesn't come close to under-delivering if you measured its success and entertainment value by the number of sequins on show. A high-octane cabaret spectacle, this well-rehearsed performance is a deluge of colour and theatrics, with a ... read more

General activities

If you need a quiet place in Siem Reap with decent, reliable internet for a Skype interview, to catch up on study or to carry on with a freelancing projects, here are co-working spaces. Work may be the last thing you have on your mind if you've hit the road for a while, but we know people in ... read more

With the recent closure of Siem Reap’s only dedicated sports bar on Alley West, the task of finding somewhere to catch the football, the rugby, the baseball or the tennis has suddenly become a bit more of a challenge. ... read more

With Cambodia’s colourful history and tales of red rebels, kidnappings, landmines, corruption and dodgy roads, it’s unsurprising that parents might think that, say, Brussels or the local petshop might be better options when planning a trip with their kids ... read more

It will surprise many of Siem Reap’s visitors to know that, despite the enormous amount of money spent by all two million of you each year, Siem Reap province remains the third poorest of Cambodia’s 23 provinces ... read more

We’re fast approaching the time of year when long stretches of hot, soggy sunshine are interspersed with hour to two hour bursts of hot, wet rain, and it’s therefore time to look at the idea of ‘strategic stranding’ ... read more

At certain times of year life in Siem Reap without a pool verges on the tortuous. Many expats make a point of leaving Siem Reap as soon as April arrives and the elements unleash the most ferocious heat and energy-sapping humidity of the year. ... read more

One of Siem Reap's most active self-promoters, Dr. Beat Richner performs once weekly on the cello. Performances are accompanied by a talk/lecture on the activities of the hospitals and a solicitation for donations of both blood and money.
Performances are every Saturday at 19:15 at the ... read more

Cooking classes

Siem Reap has no shortage of cooking classes, but many of them offer the same boring hour spent preparing fish amok and other typical Khmer dishes. Here are four schools we recommend both for their quality and willingness to try something different.
Tigre de Papier is one of the longest running ... read more

Asana offers Siem Reap’s first mixology masterclass: settle in and learn how to make delicious cocktails using plenty of local ingredients. Ingredients for a good cocktail class are not just fresh and exciting produce, but ample tasting opportunities. Cycling home in a not-too-straight-line after ... read more

Shopping

A round up of where to find meaningful artisan mementos at workshops, ateliers and artisan showrooms, which are all free to visit.
With a flourishing crafts scene, a variety of workshops, ateliers and artisan showrooms are home in Siem Reap to impressive wares where you can find unique gifts ... read more

Senteurs d'Angkor makes for an affordable gift and workshop tour and is a great place to pick up authentic, locally made items. Senteurs D’Angkor is a gift shop in the centre of Siem Reap, located directly opposite the Old Market. However, this treasure trove of scented natural products made from ... read more

The word ‘souvenir’ is derived from the French for to remember, and far more than their beauty or intrinsic value that of course is the ultimate purpose of those odd trinkets we buy when we travel. ... read more

As you walk the streets, or drink and dine in Siem Reap you will at some stage undoubtedly be petitioned by children and adult male landmine victims to buy books or, in the case of the kids, postcards, jewellery or flowers ... read more

A couple of years ago the once dark and dingy Lane in Siem Reap looked like not much more than a decent prospect for a drugs score. Today it’s developing into a trendy little enclave, home to many an expat’s favourite hangout, with an atmosphere a world a ... read more

I’m one of those people who claims to be non-techie and unswayed by market caprice, but somehow always contrives to have something that’s nearly up-to-date, but insufficiently à la mode that I can lay claim to an air of above-it-all superiority ... read more

The busy streets of Siem Reap are in a constant state of flux as bars, shops and restaurants open, close, move or refurbish at an astonishing rate. Eventually, some establishments settle down and start to become part of the scenery ... read more

One of the best and most interesting ways to evoke memories of a trip somewhere special is not through things you touch — souvenirs (though there can be a place for them, of course) — but through the things you can smell, preferably also employing your no ... read more

Markets

Known as Psah Chah in Khmer, Siem Reap's old market is a labyrinthine web of stalls in the heart of Siem Reap where you can find everything from clothing to jewellery to rat traps to DVDs and a seemingly endless spread of food. The market's greatest attraction is the wet foods section right in the ... read more

Since its launch in 2013 this colourful street market has become an outstanding expression of the area's arts, charities, food and people.
The organisers have a strict policy that every item for sale must be made in Cambodia. Most are also crafted by hand, with nothing mass produced, ensuring ... read more

Many of the "Cambodian" souvenirs sold in the Old Market and elsewhere are made in China. If you want to be sure you're buying something genuine and directly support the local economy, make your way to the 'Made-in-Siem Reap' craft market.
Opened in 2012, the space is a crafts studio as well as ... read more

Yoga

Siem Reap offers plenty of opportunities to practice yoga, both for yoga-nuts and for first-timers, for whom the studios’ location far away from home may provide the perfect opportunity to try without running the risk for evermore of bumping into your cla ... read more

Day trips

If you came to Siem Reap on the boat -- either from Phnom Penh or Battambang -- the great body of water you travelled across is the Tonle Sap lake, the largest body of fresh water in Southeast Asia and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The name means "large freshwater river" and it's actually a combined ... read more

If you arrive at Siem Reap by boat then you've seen Chong Khneas -- it's the mostly Vietnamese-inhabited, floating village that surrounds from the Siem Reap dock. It's the closest village to Siem Reap, home to the Gecko Environmental Centre and is the launching pad for Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary -- ... read more

To see how lotus flowers are used to make garments, stop by this farm for an educational hour or two. The lotus is a powerful spiritual symbol in Asia, one of purity and divinity. It’s also pretty -- and a pretty versatile flower at that. Not only might you stumble across it in traditional Khmer ... read more

Prek Toal bird reserve is a nature lover’s delight, especially when it comes to bird watching. Whether you’re a serious, seasoned birder, a casual birdwatcher or complete twitching novice who only just knows the difference between a toucan and a turkey, Prek Toal bird reserve is a nature ... read more

Quad biking – or delving into the countryside via motorbike, tuk tuk, bike or foot – is an opportunity to see incredibly photogenic scenery and experience contemporary rural culture that will complement, and break up, visits to the historic sites of Angkor. With two quad bike operators in town ... read more

I am slightly claustrophobic – demanding to be let off a Boeing 777 three hours into a flight from London to LA was a particularly memorable episode in the history of my phobia – so a flight in a hot air balloon has never appealed ... read more

For cyclists, Siem Reap is genuinely twice blessed. Firstly, all the major sights are within easy striking distance of the town using pedal power alone. And secondly — and more importantly given the tropical climate — the terrain is pretty much flat as a ... read more

How hot and sticky is it in Siem Reap? Even in the cooler months of the year, after a day spent trampling around Angkorian temples or visiting any of the many other things to see, you feel horrible before it’s even midday. ... read more

Heavily advertised throughout Siem Reap, the Tara Riverboat is a floating bar and restaurant anchored in the waters of Tonle Sap. Tara offers a series of packages, which can take you to Chong Kneas, Kampong Phluk or Kampong Kleang. The Tara Riverboat itself is at Chong Kneas and you are brought ... read more

Heading east along the bank of Tonle Sap will take you to Kompong Phluk -- and a world away from the tourist trap of Chong Khneas. Unlike its well-touristed sister, this is a stilted rather than floating village (you may see some floating rafthouses about the place). It's a very different place ... read more

Like Kompong Phluk, Kompong Khleang is a stilted rather than floating village. It's massive -- the largest on the lake -- and around 10 times the size of Kompong Phluk. As with Kompong Phluk, the main livelihood here is fishing, but in a number of ways it is a more interesting village to visit. ... read more

There's something for experienced and inexperienced riders alike now in Siem Reap, with both tours for skilled and adventurous off road riders along with those looking for something a little more sedate,
Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours get rave reviews for their motorcycle trips into the ... read more

Part of Artisans D’Angkor, Angkor Silk Farm is a social business best known for its artisan workshop and high-end shop in central Siem Reap. The silk farm shows you the processes that produce the fine looking silk wares on offer. You can take a free shuttle from Artisans D’Angkor departing at ... read more

Festivals and events

Running for literally hours in sometimes sweltering heat may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but serious endurance athletes to those simply dipping their toe in a little hard core exercise will be pleased to know the Angkor Archaeological Park prov ... read more

Fancy a night of joy, madness, music, dance and ginormous puppetry (no, that is not a euphemism)? Then keep an eye out for The Giant Puppet Parade, the culmination of the Giant Puppet Project and one the biggest nights of the year in Siem Reap. ... read more

Natural attractions

For anyone who works in a city or town, one of the best parts of getting away is the chance to reacquaint oneself with things that are green. And even for those fortunate enough to live in a rural or semi-rural environment, the need for green (not the one ... read more